Rebuilding
by IronicVeghead
Summary: The invasion is over, the battle is won. Bart reflects on this as he helps out around the construction site of the New Mount Justice. AuraofDawn's Christmas present for the YJ gift exchange! Bart Centered. Wonderbeetle. Spitfire.


**Merry Christmas Aura!**

**I know that you wanted something fluffy and happy. I hope this is what you were hoping for!**

* * *

As he raced around the site, transporting necessary tools to anyone who needed them, Bart was sure that if he stopped for even a moment he would burst into tears. And after he dropped off a couple of screwdrivers for Captain Atom and Karen to use, he found himself zipping behind an outcropping of shattered boulders to take a breath.

Bart let out a shuddering exhale and ran a hand through his mussed up hair, his wrist rubbing against the hard plastic of his goggles. He grinned and pulled them back, setting them on his forehead before running his fists into his eyes to try and hold in the tears. His chest feeling as it was going to collapse in on itself as he battled the instinct to cry.

He'd never had this problem before. Not once in his life had he cried from joy, from relief. There was never anything so wonderful.

But as the speedster relented to the few drops that ran past his fingers, bringing his hands away to look up into the sky, (tinted purple by Zatanna's magical barrier) he'd never felt a better reason to start.

His view of the clouds was obscured by _proof_.

Proof that he'd made a difference; that the future was saved.

The skeleton of the future was tall and proud. The metal beams glinting sharply from the midday sun. The glares hurt his eyes, but Bart refused to look away. _His future _didn't have this. This was a deviation that had occurred purely by his success.

The Team and the League were working together to _rebuild Mount Justice_.

The reminding thought was so strong that Bart had to clench his teeth to keep from letting out a whoop of victory. So instead he wiped his eyes of any lingering wetness and placed his goggles back on.

Captain Atom would probably need a wrench as well, so Bart decided to grab him one before the hero needed to ask. He and Karen were setting up the Zeta tube portals so that the rest of the heroes could come and go as quickly as possible while construction was underway.

The speedster took a sharp turn around some rubble that hadn't been removed by Hal yet before reaching the Bats. The Gothamers were hoarding the majority of the tools in the whole site so it was the quickest place to retrieve a wrench.

"Hey Tim!" Bart yelled joyfully as he stopped behind the Robin who was working on the Cave's main electronic wiring. The boy startled and jumped away from the half-completed keyboard.

"Bart!" He exclaimed, his eyes growing wide behind his mask as he searched to see if Batman had heard. Luckily, he had been away, off helping Captain Marvel, "I've told you before! Don't use my name around anyone else!" He hissed.

The speedster grinned and patted his friends back a bit harder than necessary, "I know! That's why I said it when there was _no one else around_," He explained slowly, expanding his arm to gesture at the surrounding area.

"Oh," Tim visibly relaxed and a hint of a smile played at his lips, "So are you here to grab another one of my tools?" He rose an eyebrow.

"Tim! My man! My main man! I came over here to see you! I missed you buddy!" Bart laughed, grabbing him in a tight hug.

"What do you need?" Robin huffed with a smirk.

"A wrench," Impulse declared, leaning over to peer into the toolbox. Tim silently held the tool under the speedster's nose, "Aha! You're the best!"

"Steal someone else's tools next time," Tim warned, although they both knew Bart wouldn't abide.

"You are my secret lover, Tim," Bart told him, a wide smirk on his features as he walked backward toward where he needed to go.

"I NEED TO WORK!" Robin announced; a flush spreading across his face even though a bit of a laugh escaped.

Bart saluted the boy before speeding away with a chuckle; he knew he would pay for his teasing later. Tim could be just as bad when the other Bats weren't around, but the Robin was too concerned with their opinion to act out in view of his superiors.

Karen gratefully accepted the wrench when he reached the Zeta construction, blushing when the speedster announced that Mal had just arrived and was looking for her. Bart smiled when she took off immediately to find him and turned to see who else would need his help.

The Zeta tubes were placed near the center of the base, so it was quite a sight to look up and witness Superman, Icon, and J'onn as they worked together to create a metal mold in the shape of a mountain. He remembered that the goal was to get the shape finished in a few days so that they could start pouring the concrete.

Bart couldn't wait to see it. While that wouldn't be the completed project, the large structure would dominate Happy Harbor.

A symbol to the villains that had been defeated last month. That good couldn't be taken down so easily.

Although Bart knew a bit better than most how close they could have come to defeat.

"Bart! Hey Bart!" Cassie called out. The speedster turned on the spot to find the Wonder Girl, dashing over once he located where she was flying around.

She and Jaime were flittering about the interior structure of the various rooms the Cave would have, putting up the walls. Bart wanted to call the material they were using 'fire-proof', but he was pretty sure that '_everything_-_proof_' would end up being a more accurate term.

"Hey hermano, what are you up to?" Jaime asked, his Blue Beetle armor retracted from his face, revealing his smile.

"I'm bouncing around," Bart grinned, "Because, you know, everyone wants my help," He shrugged, making the two flying heroes laugh.

"Don't make me get out my lasso!" Cassie threatened lightly, holding a square plate of material up for Jaime to shoot with his Blue Beetle staples, one of the few construction devices that could be used to successfully put up the material.

"Is Khaji Da still trying to shoot Cassie?" Bart asked, holding his hand to his mouth to smother his teasing smile since he already knew the answer.

"No!" Jaime responded quickly, a blush tinting his cheeks, "He's been much more understanding since the invasion,"

The final battle of the invasion had been many things. But if Bart were to describe it in a few choice words, it could be described as loud, messy, and stressful. The aliens had finally been sent off world by a global-wide pulse of alien tech created by Khaji Da (whom the team and league were now aware of), and the Light had retreated with their tails between their tails. And when the dust settled; the first thing to do was a head count. Everyone had fought tooth and nail, using every ounce of energy and determination they had to hold off Black Manta's troops and the Reach until the pulse was ready.

Bart remembered the conclusion well, in fact, he was sure that it would be something he would never forget.

_Black Manta's soldiers had pulled back first, thwarted by the capture of Black Manta himself. The bright pulse of energy created by Blue's technology swept across the beach battlefield, shaking the ground in its force. All of the heroes had frozen in shock as the warriors of the Reach screamed, fighting the push of the energy that sent them off-world. _

_And suddenly they were gone. The sand and dirt fell to the ground as if in slow motion, dislodged by the power of their disappearance. Weapons and unconscious bodies littered the coast and Impulse turned, searching for Jaime, who he'd been fighting alongside. He brushed the soot from his goggles roughly, turning in place and seeking for any sign of his friend. _

_"Blue!?" He called out, mustering up his energy as the adrenaline of the long fight wore out. There were other heroes scrambling around and the speedster checked on them eagerly, Rocket was nursing a wrist wound, probably a sprain. Canary was helping Green Arrow pick himself up, the two limping around to check on others. _

_"Bart!" A voice rang out. Impulse turned and found Cassie landing with a stumble a few feet away, her hair singed and scrapes covering her arms, "Have you seen Jaime?" She asked, walking over and leaning her hand on his shoulder to balance herself. It didn't take him long to guess that she'd gotten a concussion. _

_"He was right next to me," Bart said, his eyes still scanning the area. Cassie chewed nervously on her lower lip, both of them having been worried about the same thing. _

_Would Jaime's scarab be subject to the pulse as well?_

_"Hey!" A very distinct voice called out, "Some help?" It was muffled, but Bart easily pinpointed the source and was dashing away before Cassie could say anything. _

_Impulse pulled to a stop after finding his way through the rubble, "Blue!" He grinned, having found the boy trapped under a rather large rock, his armor having retracted. _

_"I'm stuck, the scarab is wiped out after that," He explained sheepishly, gesturing to the wide expanse around them and the lack of enemies. _

_"Don't worry," The speedster grinned, leaning down to keep his friend company, "Cassie was right behind me," _

_"She's alright?!" Jaime gasped in surprise and happiness. The last anyone had seen of Wonder Girl was when she flew off after Black Beetle during the battle. _

_"You doubted me?" The blonde girl laughed, landing a bit unsteadily beside them. Bart reached his arm out to keep her from toppling over. _

_"N-No!" Jaime protested, "Of course not," _

_"I know," She laughed lightly, stepping over and leaning down to grab at the bottom of the boulder, "Grab him Bart, I'm tired," _

_Impulse nodded and held on to Jaime's shoulders, ready to yank him out when she lifted the rock. Cassie grit her teeth and dug her fingers into the rock, pulling it off the ground and hefting it roughly off to the side. Bart had pulled Jaime out the moment he was free, looking for signs of blood on his jeans where the boulder had been resting. _

_"I'm fine," Jaime breathed out, leaning up with some difficulty, Cassie sat down, wordlessly helping him up, "I still had the armor when I got pinned, so I wasn't crushed," He smiled. _

_"Thank goodness!" Wonder Girl grinned, leaning over to grab him in a tight hug. Jaime froze for a moment in disbelief before leaning into her and returning the embrace, "I was worried that you'd been sent away too," _

_Jaime chuckled a bit and pulled away, although Bart noticed that they were still rather close, "You doubted me?" He asked, a teasing smile on his lips. _

_Cassie giggled her cheeks growing a bit flush. Bart realized quickly that they were both too nervous to make a move. He'd been watching them dance and flirt around each other for the last few months, and frankly he'd had enough waiting. His two best friends were too nervous, so he took matters into his own hands. _

_Literally. _

_Jaime only need a little shove; the moment he leaned forward Cassie jumped on the sign and kissed him. Bart snickered when Jaime jumped at the contact, but it only took the boy a split second to realize what was happening. _

_Cassie grinned into the kiss when Jaime brought his hand up to brush his fingers across her cheek, his movement tentative. _

_The two teens pulled back, blushes on their cheeks and smiles on their faces. Bart just laughed a bit to himself and leaned back to relax on his elbows, exhausted from the battle. _

He wasn't so tired anymore. But he was certainly just as happy.

Bart was pulled out of his memories when Cassie flew over to kiss Jaime on the cheek. It was such a relief not to have his friends tiptoeing around each other. Although there had been a bit of an issue when Khaji Da had reawakened. The scarab had not been very pleased to find Jaime in close contact with the female who made his hormones race. After a few close calls with the plasma cannon and a _lot _of chatting, the scarab had finally relented.

"Have you told Wonder Woman yet?" Bart spoke up, catching the two flying teens attention.

"Uh," Cassie grimaced, pulling at the hem of her shirt a bit.

"Not yet," Jaime finished for her.

"Don't worry, I was already aware," Diana smirked, having just walked into the area, a bundle of piping resting in her arms.

"Diana!" Cassie gasped, zipping over to her mentor, "I'm sorry, I should have told you sooner!" She apologized.

"I believe I knew before you did, Cassandra," The Amazon smiled, giving the two a knowing look before continuing on her route towards where the showers were to be built.

Jaime and Cassie stared at each other in a mix of shock a fear, questioning who else must know. Bart let out a loud laugh, finding the entire situation immensely hilarious.

"Oh man! You guys should see your faces," He held his sides, "But don't worry," The speedster calmed down, holding up a hand, "You don't have to tell anyone,"

"Ese, you didn't!" Jaime exclaimed. Bart just snickered as Cassie turned to her boyfriend with a questioning glance.

"Yeah, everyone knows," He smirked.

"Bart!" Cassie yelped.

"Oh was that my name?" Bart feigned, "Someone needs me, gotta dash!" He laughed, zooming away before his friends could say anything else.

Oh, they were going to be the _best_to tease. And the speedster had to admit, he found it extremely exciting to not know what the future was going to hold for them. Jaime wasn't in Bart's future, so his relationship with Cassie was going to be something entirely new. Something he couldn't predict, or pull on his knowledge of the future to see what was going to happen. It was refreshing, not to mention they were both his friends. So he couldn't see each of them with anyone better.

Bart wasn't really paying any attention to where he was going, which in hindsight was never a good idea when running faster than humanly possible.

It was also likely to be the reason he nearly barreled Zatanna right over after taking a tight corner.

"Whoa Bart!" She laughed, steadying herself from the close call, "Watch where you're going, alright?"

"Sorry Zee!" Bart exclaimed, racing back to her to help her balance from the gust of wind he'd trailed into her. He was about to ask her how she was, wanting to catch up, when someone spoke up from behind him.

"Zatanna, can we not even discuss this?" Giovanni asked, apparently having been following the magician.

"No," She smirked, placing her hand on her hip, "I like my top. And I'm nineteen now, I know that it's hard but I'm not regressing for you,"

Giovanni frowned in disappointment and Bart withheld a snicker, understanding that her father was upset by the amount of cleavage her uniform showed.

Zatanna had been waiting for another opportunity to release her father from Nabu for years, as Bart had been told. Fate had not been kind when she'd tried once before and was determined never to let her have another chance. Giovanni had been difficult to track, and even harder to catch in a vulnerable moment.

But in the final battle of the invasion, he had been knocked unconscious. He and Zatanna had worked together to take down Klarion, but the final spell which banished Klarion from their world had proven too much for Fate. Though successful, he had been rendered unconscious and drained of power. It was that, and the work Zatanna had put into a more powerful releasing spell that finally allowed Giovanni his freedom.

Bart hadn't been present for the event, but word of his release had spread like wildfire and it had become one of the many things the League had to celebrate when all was done.

"Excuse us Bart," M'gann chirped, startling the speedster out of his amusing time of watching the two magicians bicker fondly. The Martian, Gar, La'gaan, and Conner were heading his direction, all carrying various kitchen appliances.

"Hey guys! Need any help from the best speedster around?" Bart grinned, stepping into line next to Conner, who was awkwardly balancing a dishwasher in his arms. M'gann was floating the kitchen island, Gar as a gorilla had the oven, and a puffed up La'gaan had the refrigerator.

"This is more of a heavy lifting job," La'gaan explained, his voice deepened from his temporary transformation.

They reached where the kitchen was going to be and everyone set down their load where it belonged.

"Oh, this is so cool! Just like it used to be!" Bart exclaimed, zipping around the half-done kitchen. Gar transformed back and jumped on top of the kitchen island.

"I know, right! It's gonna be even better though!" He joined in.

"Hey, can we put in secret passages? We should put in secret passages!" The speedster stopped in front of M'gann.

"That would be awesome!" Garfield agreed, following Bart's lead and landing in front of his sister, "Can we? Please?!"

"I don't think that's up for me to decide," M'gann laughed.

"I agree though, that would be pretty cool," La'gann smiled, "I bet if we spread the word around we can totally get everyone on board,"

"Cool!" Gar grinned widely, turning to share his excitement with Bart, the two boys fist bumped.

"If everyone knows about them, wouldn't they just be passages?" Conner asked with a smirk.

"Not the point," Bart stated quickly.

"Oh man, this is gonna be so cool!" Gar exclaimed, jumping back onto the island to look around the half-built structures of the cave, imagining where the passages might be placed.

Bart smiled and looked back at the three adults he was standing around. They had all been through a lot. He wanted to tell M'gann that he was glad to have her back, but he knew she was embarrassed of her time in the League 'Hero Rehabilitation Program'. A new program that had been put in place after the invasion was over. M'gann was in it along with Artemis and Kaldur.

Everyone had been shocked when it was revealed what she had been doing to the villains, her own logical reasoning had failed her and the repercussions of her actions had put her in quite a state. However Bart had noticed one decent outcome of the entire ordeal. Conner and La'gaan seemed to be getting along.

Garfield and La'gaan had turned into M'gann's support system during her Hero Rehabilitation. And although Conner himself had been reluctant, M'gann insisted that he be present as well. Bart had overheard Wally talking about it once; apparently M'gann had been turning to Conner as her conscience as she rediscovered her moral values. The speedster wasn't sure exactly how the rehabilitation worked, but as it turned out, the four of them had turned into a tight little family.

"Lunch!" A familiar voice yelled out across the construction. Bart grinned and ran to its source without saying goodbye to the others. He wondered if he would be the first there.

"Artemis!" Wally called out joyfully.

Bart stopped once he'd reached them, not at all surprised that he _wasn't _the first to get to her.

"Hey Babe," Artemis laughed, pressing her cheek against Wally's as he hugged her tightly, her own arms busy being laden down with bags of food.

"I missed you," He informed her, releasing her from the hug to kiss her multiple times. She returned them eagerly while pressing a few of the plastic bags into his arms.

"I've been gone an hour," She smirked, sighing when her left arm (wrapped in a cast) was relieved from holding half of the food.

"I know," Wally answered playfully.

Bart decided that the two had had their fun and ran over as if he'd just arrived, crushing himself to Artemis's side in a hug.

"Aunt Arty! You brought food! You are my favorite person _ever_," He exclaimed.

"Bart!" Wally hissed. Artemis smirked, hugging the boy back with one arm.

"We've talked about this, Bart," The blonde leaned down to whisper, and he smiled because her voice was sweet but she still had the underlying threat in her tone, "I'm just Artemis, we haven't announced it yet,"

"Right, right. Sorry," He apologized, stepping back with a sheepish grin.

"You weren't even supposed to know," Wally scoffed, ruffling his cousin's hair playfully.

Bart laughed without shame and began peeking into the bags, the smell of French fries calling out to him.

"What did you get for me, Babe?" Wally asked the blonde.

"I bought an extra of everything on the menu," Artemis explained, pulling the food away from Bart's curious fingers. The boy frowned and she smirked at him.

"You're the best," The redhead smiled, reaching a hand into a bag to grab a cheeseburger. Until Artemis slapped his hand away, that was, "What?" He whined.

"Let everyone else get their food first, you can have the abundance of leftovers," She scolded lightly.

"And me?" Bart spoke up.

"Yes there will be enough for you, too, Bart," Artemis smiled.

"You slay me," Wally feigned sadness, pulling the blonde to his side and letting his head fall into her shoulder.

"You love me," Artemis corrected, pressing a kiss into his hair.

Wally laughed, picking his head up to kiss her cheek.

Bart just grinned wildly. Oh, these two were just his _favorite_. He'd loved them from his time and he still loved them in this new one.

The memory of when he'd first met the Artemis of this time was still one of his favorite moments of his life.

_"Hey Cuz'! Everyone else is busy so I thought I'd come see you!" Bart smiled, standing proudly on the front porch of Wally's apartment. _

_"Bart, I'm kind of busy right now," Wally explained, "Artemis has a paper due tomorrow and I don't think-"_

_"Aunt Artemis is here?!" He exclaimed, his eyes wide. It only took the speedster a split second to zoom past Wally and halt in the living room._

_"Bart!" Wally snapped, closing the front door. _

_"Hello?" Artemis spoke up tentatively, paused from her typing at her laptop on the kitchen table, her eyebrows furrowed in confusion. _

_"Aunt Artemis! No one told me you were living here!" Bart yelped happily, suddenly at the blonde's side and hugging her tightly. _

_"W-what?" Artemis stuttered, too surprised to return the hug, she looked helplessly at her boyfriend, who looked just as shocked, "Aunt?" _

_Bart pulled back, his face a mixture of horror and surprise, his limbs suddenly stiff, "You...aren't married yet," It was a statement. _

_"Did you have to ruin the surprise?" Wally smiled sheepishly, walking up to the two and resting his hand on Bart's shoulder. _

_"Sorry," He apologized sincerely, taking a step backwards and outstretching his arms as though to introduce Artemis. _

_Artemis gasped a little and stood up, putting her hand out and opening her mouth to say something. Bart never knew what, because before she could let it out Wally had dipped down on one knee and taken her hands in his own. _

_"Wally-" She whispered, her eyes softening into a warm tenderness. _

_"Artemis, I was planning to do this on your birthday, but now works too," He smiled, his cheeks tinted a bit red, "I love you so much, Babe. I love you more than anything in the world. More than my superspeed, more than food, more than myself. You are my better half, Artemis. You keep me grounded, sane, and most of all, humble. You never let me get away with anything; you're a challenge that I've never regretted facing. And in fact I think it was probably the best thing I've ever done, and certainly the smartest," He laughed a bit and Artemis laughed as well though there were some tears growing in her eyes. She pulled one hand briefly out of his grasp to fondly brush back some of his wild red hair, "I can't imagine spending my life with anyone else. And I hope I'll never have to. Artemis, would you make me the happiest man alive? Would you be my wife?" _

_The air grew silent for a moment, and Bart watched with one of the biggest smiles he'd ever had as Artemis closed her eyes to push back the tears before nodding. _

_"Yes," She rasped out, "Oh, __**Wally**__. I love you so much. Yes, of course. __**Yes,**__" _

_Wally laughed, a grin plastered onto his face as he stood up and met Artemis's open arms. They kissed, for entirely too long in Bart's opinion, and then just stood in each other's arms. _

_"Hey Bart," Wally spoke up without breaking the intense eye contact he and Artemis were holding, "Bedroom, dresser, top drawer on the right," _

_The speedster was back in two seconds, a velvet red box in his grasp which he handed to the redhead. _

The rest of the memory had been filled with kisses and embraces that were a bit much for Bart's comfort, but he really couldn't blame them.

He was mostly just glad that Artemis had gotten out of her undercover work unscathed, well, mostly unscathed. Deathstroke had broken her arm, but Wally had gotten in the way before anything worse occurred.

Wally had been well aware that Bart knew Artemis hadn't really died on her mission. The time traveler had done all the research he could before he left his time, and he knew that Kaldur was undercover. It only took him a few minutes to work through the information he'd collected in the team grapevine and understand what had occurred.

It took him even less to decide that being there for Wally so that the redhead didn't pull his hair out in worry was the best thing he could do to help. Bart often spent his weekends visiting his cousin while Artemis was undercover, giving Wally someone to talk to about his concerns freely, although it took a while to get him to open up.

Bart visited the two of them on the weekends after she returned, it was one of his favorite things to do and they even had a blanket in the closet that had been dubbed "The Bart Blanket" for when he stayed the night

"Here, Bart," Artemis said, pulling the speedster out of his thoughts as he registered the large order of fries under his nose.

"Thanks, Arty," He grinned, stuffing a few of the delicious fries into his mouth immediately. He looked over to find that Wally had some as well. Bart held up his packet and Wally bumped his against them, the two of them laughing a bit as they cheered to food. Artemis rolled her eyes.

"I hope you are going to share all of that food," Nightwing said as he walked up, smirking at the trio.

"One chicken sandwich with all the fixings and a side of fries," Artemis responded, handing the acrobat his order.

"Hey, you gonna ea-" Wally started.

"Don't ask questions you already know the answer to, Dude," Nightwing laughed, giving his best friend a playful punch to the shoulder.

"You never know," Wally chuckled.

"If you boys are done bickering, we should pass out the rest of the lunches," Artemis cut in, gesturing to the plastic bags full of lunch orders. Nightwing slipped away with a laugh before she could recruit him.

"Speedster Delivery, at your service Ma'am," Bart saluted, having already finished his fries.

"Thanks Bart," Artemis smiled before turning to her fiancé, "Why can't you be like that Wally?" She teased as she passed over a few bags to the boy.

"Baby, _really_," Wally scoffed, "I don't offer because I already know I'm gonna do whatever you want me to,"

"Hmm. Good point," Artemis laughed, kissing Wally lightly on the lips, "Alright, take these around, the names are written on the side of the paper bags," She ordered the the two speedsters.

"Be back in a flash," Bart grinned before running off, laughing when he heard Wally's groan as he left.

As he delivered the food, Bart continued to glance around in awe, no matter how many times he'd passed a near-built structure he'd already seen, it still continued to amaze and inspire. Because he could finally be sure of the one thing he wanted to save when he came back.

The future.

And the future looked bright.

* * *

**I really don't see why they wouldn't rebuild the mountain if they don't lose the planet to the invasion. And I hope this starts a slew of fics that work with this idea, because this fandom could use some happiness and this kind of positive thinking would be great for all of us. **

**Happy Holidays everyone! I love you all so much!**

**_Love_, Veg**


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